Letter from an Odango
by AngelONight
Summary: Two-shot. "I was never good at being alone" Usagi and Seiya reflect on their friendship.
1. Usagi

**So, I'm supposed to be studying, but instead I wrote one-shots. This one is my first, and it's really a new experience. And I love it! So, expect more on random stuff every once in a while.  
This particular one-shot would not go away till I wrote it out, so I hope you guys enjoy. And please, tell me what you thought!

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Letter from an Odango:**

A parchment of paper lay beneath the head of the slumbering girl, her golden hair fluttering slightly as she breathed softly.

_Dear Mamo-chan, _

_How are you? It's been six months since you've been gone and I haven't gotten any responses from you. That's longer than I ever thought I'd have to wait to hear from you. Is it because you're busy? Or maybe I have the wrong address? Did something happen? Are you in a hospital somewhere?_

_How can I know what's wrong if I don't hear from you? Am I writing too much? You must be too busy to respond. I understand. I'll keep waiting, and I'll keep writing. Hopefully you'll answer one of my letters someday soon. I'd love to hear from you. _

_Things at home are going badly. The Sailor Animamates are attacking a lot more, Setsuna and Haruka have forbidden me from seeing Seiya, and the girls won't leave me alone anymore. I've never fought an enemy without you here. I don't think I can do it. _

_I miss you, Mamo-chan. I can't go on without hearing from you and seeing you. And I can't fight without you. _

_I just wish I could see you. But I understand that you're probably busy. I hope you can find time to answer me soon. I love you, Mamo-chan._

_Love,_

_ Usagi, your Odango-Atama_

The girl sighed in her sleep, a whisper slipping from her mouth. "_Mamo-chan…_" and a tear slipped from her eye, sliding along her smooth cheek to fall softly onto the parchment.

*

"USAGI-CHAN!" a shriek rose from outside and Usagi jumped as she accidentally bit her tongue whilst chewing on her pancakes. Minako's dulcet tones were obvious even through two closed doors, a gate and above the sound of the morning news.

Her mother trudged into the room, rubbing her eyes blearily, "That girl never wakes up on time. Just once I wish-" she froze as she opened her eyes and took in the pancakes sitting on the table, and Usagi chewing slowly and deliberately as she tried to avoid the sore part of her tongue. "Usagi?"

Usagi rose and went to wash her plate in the sink and once she was done, walked calmly out of the room with her book bag securely on her shoulders, leaving her mother staring speechlessly at her.

She walked out to meet Makoto and Minako, both of whom were bickering about which one of the Three Lights were cuter. "Usagi, don't you think Yaten is cuter?" Minako asked as they set off towards their school.

"Mmm," she muttered as Makoto and Minako continued talking excitedly, glad that they hadn't noticed her lack of enthusiasm.

Usagi had woken up at nearly the crack of dawn slouched over her desk, where she had fallen asleep after failing to do her school homework. Fortunately- or unfortunately, if looked at from another point of view, such as her own- she had had enough time this morning to finish her homework for the entire week, while her letter to Mamoru sat on the corner of her desk, staring at her.

She felt drained, her energy dwindling to nothing at the idea that it was just the start of the day. She didn't want to go to school- at all.

"Usagi?" Makoto asked, but Usagi didn't pay attention. A raven-haired head a few feet in front of her drew her eyes almost hypnotically. Just as she was about to shout Mamoru's name, he turned to enter into an office building- he wasn't Mamoru.

_Of course he wasn't Mamoru_, she berated herself. Mamoru was somewhere across the Atlantic Ocean and probably studying right now. That or lying in a ditch somewhere.

"How's Mamoru-san doing?" Makoto asked and Usagi snapped to attention at the mention of the name, but deflated when she realized what Makoto had asked.

"He's fine. His studies are going great," she said, forcing a smile to her face. Makoto and Minako obviously accepted her answer and eventually turned the conversation away from Mamoru again.

She hated lying to them. They could make her feel at least a little better if she would just tell them- but she couldn't. What was the point of bothering them with this? They were all worried enough about the Animamates and the tensions between the Outers and the Starlights. This was just her being weak again.

The school day passed exceedingly slowly and when it was finally over, she went straight home, accompanied by Ami and Rei, who lived in her direction. She muttered a reply to their chorus of good-byes and entered her house, collapsing immediately onto her bed.

She glanced at her phone, which read 0 messages- as usual. She then lay still and tried to sleep. Her mother checked in once darkness set over her room, but Usagi didn't respond to her soft voice asking if she was awake, remaining lying on her side and crunched into a small ball.

Midnight came and went and still Usagi lay on her bed, staring blankly out the window. Finally, she rose and opened the window, and from the balcony, jumped to the ground. Clutching the letter in her hand, she walked quickly and quietly to the nearest mailbox.

The wind whipped her hair around her and sent shivers through her body at its strength. She wrapped her hands around herself to protect herself as she walked, her heart set on doing this.

If Mamoru wouldn't respond to this, there was nothing he would respond to. She had to know, and even if she never got a reply, at least she would know he had forgotten about her.

She had never thought it would happen. That Mamoru would just leave her like this. He had always promised he'd be there for her. But he had lied. Why had he told her all of that stuff if he had never planned on doing it?

She glanced at the ring on her left ring finger, where the heart glinted slightly under the light of the streetlamp above her. She had the urge to take it off right there and throw it to the ground. That was how he'd treated his promises, maybe that was the way she should them too.

"Odango?"

She whirled around to face Seiya, her heart beating wildly. "SEIYA!" She flew into his arms with a thump and sighed peacefully as his arms wrapped around her comfortingly.

"It's good to see you too, Odango," he said, and she could hear the smile in his voice. She looked up, and for the first time all day a true smile lighted her face in response to his.

"How are you?" she asked after he finally released her. His hair was messily pulled into his signature ponytail, his eyes had small shadows underneath them for the first time and his suit jacket and shirt looked like he had left them crumpled in a small ball for two years.

"I could be better," he said wearily. He looked closely at her and she immediately tried to brighten her smile to mask the sorrow that she felt in her heart. It was the first time she had seen him since the Outers had forbidden her and Seiya from seeing each other after the debacle at the amusement park. He opened his mouth to ask something, but she cut him off.

"How are the wounds?"

He smiled softly, "I was always a fast healer, Odango. You don't have to worry about that." But she did worry. It was the second most present thought in her head after Mamoru's absence. Seiya had saved her life, and every time she thought about it, she felt pain in her chest.

"How-"

"How are _you_?" This time, he interrupted her before she could ask him another question. His eyes crinkled happily as she shot him a glare for the interruption. He continued, the familiar smirk on his face now, "What are you doing out so late at night?" The smirk slid off his face as he suddenly cast a harried glance around them, "The Outers aren't around, are they?"

"I'm good, mailing a letter and no," she answered, ticking off the questions. She shivered as a particularly big gust of wind blew by the two of them. But Seiya took the brunt of it, protecting her from it- just like he had protected her before- and just like Mamoru had done all the time.

Seiya immediately shrugged off his suit coat and walked around her and put it around her shoulders, "You shouldn't have left without a coat," he said, his tone slightly reprimanding. She pulled it close, accidentally inhaling the scent. Warmth washed over her as she remembered a time when it had been Mamoru's scent she had inhaled.

"Come on, I'll walk you to the mailbox," he said as he started walking forward. She followed silently, the letter still clutched tightly in her hand.

"I'm sorry for Haruka and Setsuna's behavior," she said quietly after a few seconds of comforting silence, "They don't like new people that much." _Or anyone for that matter_, she thought to herself.

"Yaten and Taiki were as much to blame as they were," Seiya said, glancing at her beside him. "And I can't really blame them. How would they know I'm not bad?"

"That's because they don't know you," she said. He looked at her speechlessly and came to an abrupt stop as they reached the mailbox.

"Well, here we are," he said after a few seconds, watching her confusedly.

She looked down at the letter in her hands, her heart in her throat.

"Aren't you going to mail it?" he asked then. She turned to look at him, the black hair fell softly onto his forehead, and the usual few hairs stuck up cutely in the back. His violet eyes were confused and the smile had left his face to be replaced by a frown, "Are you okay, Odango?"

"Yes," she whispered, "I'm fine," and she turned around, her hands ripping the letter. "Walk me back to my house?" she inquired of Seiya without facing him.

"Of course," he said as he joined her. She stayed close beside him, their shoulders rubbing at each step and she sighed contentedly.

Behind them, small pieces of parchment flew as the wind picked up, taking her worries with them. At least for a little while.

_I'm not only your Odango Atama anymore. And, maybe I can fight without you. _

_I guess we'll see.

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**So, what did you guys think? Good? Bad? Really bad? Please, review and comment on it! I'd love to know how one-shots are seen.**


	2. Seiya

**Just something I felt like writing when I was in the mood. Sort of a continuation of the last chapter, with everything as it's supposed to be.

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Seiya looked at the picture of Usagi, who was held within Mamoru's arms. She looked so perfect within them, and they fit together so perfectly. He couldn't explain the feeling when he saw them together. It was like a dull ache within his chest, like something was missing, like his heart wasn't there anymore.

"Would you like some tea?" She asked as she smiled brightly at him, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She had cut her hair, it now fell around her shoulders, and she looked as beautiful as ever. Her body had matured and she had grown a few inches, now almost as tall as him.

"Tea would be great, thanks," he said, smiling back at her. She laughed and nodded, walking to the kitchen gracefully. Huh, when had she gotten so graceful? The Odango he remembered had been a major klutz. But then again, five years had changed a lot.

Like that ring on her finger.

It wasn't a promise ring anymore. No, it was a full on major piece of stone- and the most elegant one he had seen. If there was anyone who deserved it, it was definitely Odango.

"So, how've you been? How are Taiki and Yaten?" She asked, glancing at him while she poured water into the pot. Her skin seemed even silkier now, almost glowing under the fluorescent lights of the kitchen, which would have made anyone look unflattering. Except for her anyway. She looked good in everything and everywhere.

"They're good. Yaten is probably milking up as much stardom as he can as a former member of the Three Lights. I think Taiki is walled up in the apartment on a project of some sort," he looked away from her, not wanting to see her face fall, "He isn't doing so well after Ami broke the news to him."

"Oh," she said softly and she walked by him to sit on the stools at the kitchen counter. He stood awkwardly at the entrance of the kitchen till she motioned for him to sit down, "I'm sorry for him." She truly was, but that was to be expected. She had more heart than anyone he had ever known, and probably ever would. "What the Shitennou and Senshi have…it's definite," she tucked the strand of hair behind her ear once again, sighing softly, "It's fate. We're sorry you all had to be caught in it like this. You don't deserve that. No one does." She looked down sadly.

He shook his head, "Don't be sorry, Odango." He didn't know what else to say. He couldn't say that the Starlights didn't love their Senshi anymore, because he knew it wasn't the truth. A part of them would always love them. He didn't know why, maybe the bonds they had formed as men on this planet had been that strong. Or it was a way for fate to play with them, to taunt them with a chance and then rip it away.

The teapot whistled as they sat in silence, both pulled in by their thoughts of the past and Odango rose to prepare the tea. He stared blankly at the marble kitchen counter. "Are you all happy?" He asked softly.

He wasn't sure she had heard when there was no answer for a minute, but he didn't raise his eyes to look at her. Seeing her eyes saying that she was the happiest she had ever been in her entire life- without him in it, it would hurt.

"Yes," she whispered, "We're happy."

"That's good then."

It hurt. It hurt more than he had thought it would. He had accepted that she loved Mamoru long ago- but that small, resistant part of him had wished and wished that she would change her mind. He knew it was selfish, that he should be happy that she was happy- and it wasn't that he wasn't, it was just that it was bitter happiness.

_Why couldn't it have been me?_

"Oh Seiya," she said, approaching him. Her breathtaking blue eyes were distraught and it hurt him to realize that it was all his fault. She had been so happy when he had seen her the day before with Mamoru, and even, a part of him proudly boasted, when he had shown up. "You'll find someone, someone who will be perfect for you. If it's one thing I learned through all these years, it's that life throws you hardships before everything can fall into place." She pulled his chin to look at her, forcing him to meet her eyes. "I promise you."

He believed her. How couldn't he, when she looked at him like that?

"And I'm sorry for giving you useless hope," she whispered, sorrow in her eyes, "I was never good at being alone…" This time she looked away, "And you were so good at making that feeling go away."

"I was warned," he said, remembering that night on the roof. He understood her completely, and he didn't blame her. At all. "I wouldn't take away what we had for anything."

He had the memories, the remembrance of her laughter and tears. He would have to be happy with that.

He stood up slowly and she was much too close that he could feel her breath on his skin. She looked at him, barely looking up. She didn't fear him at all, and that meant more to him than anything else could have. He smiled softly, remembering the time in the club when they had gone dancing, how she had looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

He kissed her forehead softly, "Always stay happy," he whispered as he pulled away, "For me."

When he returned to Kinmoku, Seiya found a piece of paper when it fluttered from his jeans.

_Dear Seiya,_

_I'm going to give this to Taiki to put somewhere, so I know it'll get to you better than if I gave it to Yaten. I wanted to write down thoughts that I couldn't get out that day when you visited._

_More than anything else, I want to thank you for all you did for me when I felt so alone those 5 years ago. It was among the hardest times of my life, and you made it livable. I will never, ever be able to convey my gratitude for those months that you remained by my side despite all the hardships that Setsuna-san and the others gave you. _

_You are truly one of the best friends I have ever had. If you don't mind, maybe we can keep the friendship on going, and I can help you find that lucky person who you will fall in love with. _

_I love you, my friend._

_- Odango _

_P.S. I'm totally visiting ASAP. Gotta see the Kinmoku people and pick the best for you. See you soon! :D _


End file.
